Hong Kong

Hong Kong is an autonomous territory of China that is located in the Pearl River Estuary of the Pacific Ocean on the coast of China. Hong Kong was a colony of the United Kingdom from 1842 to 1997, with Hong Kong Island being annexed after the First Opium War and the Kowloon peninsula after the Second Opium War. In 1997, Britain transferred sovereignty of Hong Kong to mainland China, and Hong Kong became an economic powerhouse. The city's deep natural harbor provided cargo ships access to the port, and its skyline features several skyscrapers, the second largest number of highrise buildings anywhere in the world. In 2014, Hong Kong had a population of 7,234,800 people.